Add the release of tight end Marquez Branson and guard Seth Olsen to the bizarre developments that also included the release of defensive end Jarvis Green, and trade of second-year cornerback Alphonso Smith to the Detroit Lions in exchange for receiving tight end Dan Gronkowski and a draft pick.

Alexander, Davis, Geer, McCarthy, Stehle and Williams are candidates for the practice squad that will be announced tomorrow.

The team also placed former Air Force defensive end Ben Garland on the reserve/military’s list, and defensive end Elvis Dumervil and receiver Brandon Stokley on injured reserve.

Stokley’s contract will be terminated as soon as his agent and the team work out an injury settlement. Stokley suffered a groin injury a couple days after the Broncos’ first preseason game.

Branson had been the Broncos’ replacement to Tony Scheffler but as preseason went along, he had issues with dependability and durability. Gronkowski _ a good receiver but not considered much of a blocker _ is now Scheffler’s replacement.

Olsen was the Broncos’ fourth-round pick last year, but after playing with the first team at left guard early in the offseason, he was replaced first by rookie Zane Beadles, then by veteran Stanley Daniels.

Smith was traded away even though the Broncos surrendered a first-round 2010 draft pick (it turned out to be No. 14 overall, which Seattle used to select safety Earl Thomas) to move up in the second round of the 2009 draft. The Broncos gave Smith a $2.15 million signing bonus last year.

And then there were two. Two first-round picks — Demaryius Thomas and Tim Tebow — are all the Broncos have left to sign on the eve of rookie training camp after the team reached an agreement on a four-year contract with second-round offensive lineman Zane Beadles.

The No. 45 overall selection in the 2010 draft, Beadles finished the Broncos’ offseason minicamp program as their starting left guard. While it’s possible Seth Olsen, the team’s fourth-round pick in 2009, could recapture the No. 1 left guard spot on the depth chart, Beadles’ ability to play both guard and right tackle means he will get plenty of playing time this season.

Beadles’ four-year deal is worth $4.2million with the $2.7 million guaranteed portion including his first-year base salary of $320,000.

Beadles signed his contract a few minutes ago, making it official.

“”He’s fired up to officially becoming a Bronco and is looking forward to going to work,” said Bruce Tollner, Beadles’ agent.

With Beadles signed, the Broncos were putting most of their concentration on negotiating the first NFL contract for Tebow, whose five-year deal won’t be completed until Wednesday at the earliest. The expectation is Thomas will be the final player signed.

Will the Broncos' season be upended with the injury to Ryan Clady? (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)

The offensive line. Six months from now, it’s possible we’ll look back and say the Broncos’ season was doomed on a basketball court.

The serious left knee injury suffered by All Pro left tackle Ryan Clady in late-April is the primary question mark among several that accompany the offensive line heading into training camp. Besides Clady’s injury _ which is supposed to be healed in time for the Broncos’ regular-season opener Sept. 12 at Jacksonville but no earlier — the Broncos are also counting on right tackle Ryan Harris to heal from big toe surgery and veteran center Russ Hochstein to recover from major knee surgery.

Replacing Clady is Tyler Polumbus, the former Cherry Creek High School and University of Colorado standout who started eight games in place of Harris at right tackle last season. In Hochstein’s absense, the Broncos have been playing rookie J.D. Walton, a third-round draft pick out of Baylor, with the first-team offense. At left guard, the Broncos will start either rookie Zane Beadles, a second-round pick from Utah, or second-year player Seth Olsen, who essentially was redshirted as a rookie last season.

The only offensive line position without reason for worry is right guard, where Chris Kuper’s consistency was recently rewarded with a five-year contract extension.

The good news about the Broncos’ offensive front is it will be the beefiest in team history. All starters and projected backups will weigh at least 300 pounds. The quality of the collective beef, though, is worth monitoring.

With Law out, the team will again rely on rookies Tony Carter and Alphonso Smith in the nickel and dime packages. Carter replaced Law last week, but Smith also saw some time at nickel after Carter — who was playing in his first game — left with muscle cramps.

Three rookies will see signficant playing time with Hill, Buckhalter and Law out. Safety David Bruton is expected to get his first start — and first real defensive playing time — of his career in place of Hill; Knowshon Moreno will be the primary tailback without Buckhalter to share carries with; and Alphonso Smith will be the nickel corner back.

Rookie corner Tony Carter, signed off the practice squad on Saturday, is active for the first time in his career; as is veteran safety Vernon Fox, who re-signed with the team on Monday.

Safety Brian Dawkins will play today for the Broncos despite missing three practices this week with an ankle injury.

Right tackle Ryan Harris is also active for the Broncos for the first time since dislocating his big toe against Baltimore Nov. 1.

With those two key starters in the lineup, there were no surprises on the inactive list for the Broncos. The following players will not dress: WRs Kenny McKinley and Brandon Lloyd; offensive linemen Seth Olsen and Brandon Gorin; nose tackle Chris Baker; running back LaMont Jordan and outside linebacker Jarvis Moss. Tom Brandstater is inactive as the third quarterback.

Rookie outside linebacker Robert Ayers will play tonight against New York after being inactive four days ago against the Chargers.

Ayers had been replaced by Jarvis Moss, the team’s 2007 first-round pick. But coaches were not thrilled with Moss’ performance either, and he is back on the inactive list, like he was for six earlier games this season.

Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton is active for Sunday’s game against San Diego, despite a sore left ankle. Chris Simms will start the game, however, with Orton as the backup. Rookie Tom Brandstater is inactive, and listed as the team’s third quarterback.

The big surprise on that list is the de-activation of Ayers, the team’s second first-round draft pick. He has played in every previous game this season and played in the team’s nickel package. It is unclear who will play in that package in Ayers’ place, though the other active outside linebackers are Elvis Dumervil (a three-down player), Mario Haggan (who normally comes out on passing downs), Darrell Reid (who already is in the nickel as a down lineman) and Jarvis Moss (has played almost exclusively on special teams in the last three weeks).

Running back/fullback Peyton Hillis is inactive for his second straight game and will not play today against the Redskins.

Hillis was also inactive Monday against the Steelers, though he was excused from that game to be with his family for his grandmother’s funeral at that time. He returned to Denver and practiced all week with the team.

The injured scratches are RT Ryan Harris (toe), S Josh Barrett (hamstring) and DE Ryan McBean (knee). All three were ruled out by Saturday.

INVESCO FIELD — Newly signed cornerback Ty Law is active for tonight’s game against Pittsburgh, just two days after signing a contract with the Broncos.

Also active is outside linebacker/defensive end Jarvis Moss, a former first round draft pick, who has suited up for only one other game (Cleveland) this year. Moss is likely active because of a knee injury to starting defensive end Ryan McBean, who will not play. Le Kevin Smith will replace McBean in the starting lineup.

Fullback/tailback Peyton Hillis, who was excused practice Friday and Saturday to deal with a personal family issue, will not play.

Bruton was limited in practice this week with a groin injury but was listed as probable on the team’s final injury report. His absence will be felt on special teams. Quinn has seen limited playing time in three tight end sets but also plays a role on special teams.

Rookie nose tackle Chris Baker and offensive tackle Brandon Gorin are both active for the first time this season.

Safety Brian Dawkins, who missed two days of practice with a sore shoulder and knee, is active for Sunday’s game against New England, as are left guard Ben Hamilton and nickel corner Alphonso Smith, who missed last week’s game against Dallas with injuries.

Wide receiver Brandon Stokley (thigh) and running back Knowshon Moreno (groin) will be in uniform for Sunday’s game in Oakland. How much the two will be able to play is uncertain, but they were not among the team’s gameday inactives.

The Broncos have (finally) released their official list of cuts to get the roster down to 53 players on the active roster.

Because the Broncos also added DE Vonnie Holliday, the team had to make an extra cut to get to the 53-man limit. The team also will have to make another roster move by Sunday to clear a spot on the active roster for Brandon Marshall, whose suspension is set to end Sept. 6.

Broncos guard Ben Hamilton, who is entering his ninth season and is the longest tenured player with the team on the current roster, is not expected to play Thursday night against the Cardinals because of back pain.

Hamilton, who visibly struggled to get up after a play in this past Sunday night’s game against the Bears, was sent to a specialist Wednesday to have his back examined.

He was held out of practice Tuesday and did not participate in the team’s on-field work Wednesday.

Rookie Seth Olsen is expected to start in Hamilton’s left guard spot against the Cardinals.

Example: Rookie Darcel McBath is formally listed as Brian Dawkins’ backup at free safety, but it is actually David Bruton who has practiced there in place of the injured Dawkins in recent days.

Example: Rookie running back Knowshon Moreno is listed fourth among running backs, but if he were really fourth he would not have taken reps with the first-team offense in his first day of training camp practice after an eight-day delay to get his contract done.

Example: Kory Lichtensteiger is listed as the backup center, but it was guard Ben Hamilton who moved over to center on the days starting center Casey Wiegmann was not on the field. Rookie Seth Olsen then played in Hamilton’s left guard spot.

So, it is a depth chart and it is a reference tool. It just may not be what the Broncos actually do on gameday.

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.